Falcons hire Raheem Morris as head coach
 

Didn't go for Belichick. Very interesting.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Falcons plan to hire Rams’ defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as their head coach, per sources. <a href="https://t.co/qlz3PbgEtJ">pic.twitter.com/qlz3PbgEtJ</a></p>&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1750636429346996734?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 25, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Bill might be done huh...

Yeah, wonder where Belichick ends up now...

Almost had to be a personnel issue, right? He wanted to run the show and they wouldn't let him.

That really just leaves Washington and Seattle, right? Can't imagine Seattle's in the market for him.

I mean...would Washington be an awful spot for him? I kinda don't think it would be.

I do think Atlanta would've been the best fit for him, though.

I just don’t get it. Can we just relegate the nfc south? Two hires today show they are not interested in being a serious division

Seattle wants to stay relatively young with their hire it sounds like. A guy who has at least 10 years in the tank.

I'm sure he isn't going to find a place willing to meet his demands. He just probably isn't that coveted at 73 y/o with what the past couple years looked like.

I wouldn't want him to coach the Chiefs if Andy left.

Washington would probably let Belichick change their team name to the Lacrosse Players

The rumor all over Twitter is that Washington wants Ben Johnson from Detroit badly and is just waiting for the Lions' season to be over. If that's true might just be Seattle. But these are all rumors at this point. Hard to believe Belichick and Vrabel might end up on the outside looking in.

I'd take Bill if I had a good qb.

If you don't have a good qb no way in hell would I want him.

Should've done that years ago. I think he'll do great, I'm a big RM fan.

It’s also funny that vrabel went to Atlanta only to pitch the idea of bringing in the oc they just fired

I was just reading a story that Arthur Blank was in a panic and freaking out because their HC search had gone terribly.

Pitts has been stuck in poverty there. Wonder how much it would take to snag him as Kelce's apprentice

This situation reminds me of that scene from What We Do In The Shadows

"Is Bill going to coach? Should we wait?"

"Bill is 8000 years old. We are not going to have Bill at the meeting."

Looks like what you read is true.

Why would you hire a 72 year old man who can't coach offense?

This oughta turn them around

It has to be. I get keeping Bowles and Dennis Allen around because those teams are just keeping their pipes together with masking tape at this point. Knowing they can win a bad division if they just give it one last desperate gasp.

Atlanta is a really good team if they just plug in a good qb. Go get yourself a Kirk cousins and they’re in it to win a shit division. Go use your great draft capital to find a qbotf. Arthur blank is a good owner so this just blows my mind that they’ve sunk this low

The Panthers are going to hire the Tampa OC no one has heard of, Dave Canales

Is there a worse organization than Carolina?

Here I found it...

Before the Falcons even parted ways with Arthur Smith, there were murmurs that Arthur Blank was intrigued with the idea of bringing in Bill Belichick to replace him.

That was even before the Patriots and Belichick went their separate ways. Once both sides were available, national pundits one by one reported that Belichick was Blank’s top target.

At one point, it was basically assumed that Bill Belichick would be named the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. As of yesterday, they’ve satisfied the Rooney Rule and are free to hire whichever coach they please without any penalties, but they haven’t.

Most recently, Adam Schefter went as far as to say on Get Up that he shouldn’t be considered the favorite, considering the Falcons have only expanded their search, interviewing more than a dozen candidates with half of them already interviewed twice or scheduled to.

That’s quite a turn of events from the beginning of the process. So, what’s happened between then? Well, there’s clearly an internal power struggle going on within the Falcons organization.

Albert Breer pointed out on The Rich Eisen Show that the organizational structure component to bringing Bill Belichick into the fold with Rich McKay and Terry Fontenot could be a holdup.

To add even more context to the situation, Zach Klein recently expanded on the situation with Brian Barrett on the Off The Pike podcast.

Klein went as far as to say that Belichick would 1000% not be reporting to Arthur Blank via Rich McKay every single Monday after a game. Klein says that Blank has met with his head coaches every single Monday for the entirety of his tenure as Falcons owner, and as he’s aged, his confidant, McKay, has as acted a liaison of sorts.

None of this is new information, though. The organizational structure with Belichick and McKay was always thought of to be a hurdle that Blank would eventually have to get over. However, Klein did have something to add that was jarring. His sources around the league say that Arthur Blank is “panicking, in total disarray, doesn’t know what to do.”

“I have heard from so many people around the league that say Arthur Blank is panicking, in total disarray, he doesn’t know what to do,” the Atlanta-based reporter told Brian Barrett on the Off The Pike podcast.

Before that statement, Klein brought up Belichick working in Atlanta for three or so years and how he would impact the front office personnel, rhetorically asking if that’s what he (Blank) wants. Klein added that Blank wants Belichick but doesn’t want everything that comes with him.

Arthur Blank wants to have his cake and eat it too, which doesn’t seem possible with Bill Belichick, Rich McKay, and this Falcons head coaching search. He seems to be struggling with the decision.

Exactly.

Even after the year we had offensively, I'd promote Nagy before I'd hire Belichick. To say nothing of trying to pry Kafka out of NYG or something.

I just can't see a world where I'm interested in hiring Belichick. The Patriots Way has just become such a poisoned well.

And that's the rub.

Would I rather have McKay and Fontenot with Morris in charge? Or Belichick and a couple of the inner circle lackies we all know he'll choose from?

I mean that's just not a question, is it? McKay is really good and Fontenot is highly regarded in his own right. That's the foundation for a long and productive front office. If you have that in place, you're only ever one hire (and a good QB) away from being a division winner.

You don't scuttle that for a coach with an expiration date.

At this point the nfc south seems like they’re playing not to lose . Only way to describe it

hahaha! Is this a DEI hire?

For a while I sure thought the Nagy promotion was a lock... then I forgot that both the HC and GM report to Clark. I'm sure Clark will hear Veach's argument for Nagy if he provides it, but will he follow through on it...

Do you try to maintain the culture by staying within the current staff, or do you just splurge on the most established HC available (like Reid in '13) again?

I think it has to be the former. Veach and Andy work so well together. That needs to be replicated as best as possible.

Nagy catches a ton of shit for a guy who led MITCH TRUBISKY and the CHICAGO BEARS to the playoffs 2/3 years.

I'm sure Nagy will interview with teams after the SB /s

If Andy surprised everyone and retired Vrable would be an interesting choice. He would need to bring in a strong offensive coordinator but I think he got the most out of what he had in Tennessee.

Wouldn’t be awesome if Bill is just forced to retire and doesn’t get Shula’s record?

I still think Nagy can coach. Others will disagree and this season did me no favors. I'd be plenty content with retaining him as a HC in 4 years when Andy finally retires.

But like you, I have ZERO interest in hiring some established veteran and blowing up a foundation that's been the most successful in football over the last decade or so. This isn't a solar system - Andy may be the Sun we orbit around but if/when he burns out, the rest doesn't have to be cast into the hinterlands.

You keep as much as your staff in place as is reasonable doable. Now if you could get a guy like Jon Harbaugh to come in as a CEO style coach and leave the rest of the guys in place (as a former Andy coach himself) - cool, consider that. But some hard-ass like McDermott? **** that. Or a complete pivot to someone like McCarthy? Pft.

Whoever comes in is a cog in the machine - not the conductor.

Morris will be fired within 2 years


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I told everyone that I didn’t think bill is getting another opportunity. He’s stubborn, and wants things his way from the bottom to the top. Maybe not like it was in NE, but couple in his stubbornness and probably overall presence, hard to work with a guy like that.

Why not Vrabel? He's the best available IMO.

Teams are dumb. So wonder where Bill goes. I am not sure the Bills have stated that McDermott is returning yet. That would be interesting

Bills should fire McDermott

I thought this guy was supposed be considered the goat? Unless he's the one turning away calls and taking his time, I find it amazing that more teams aren't going after him even ones without vacancies and mediocre coaches like the Bears with his resume. Instead he's getting passed over. Maybe his rep has caught up with him. Night and day difference when Reid left the Eagles.

So you are worried about Belichick as a cultural fit and you hire someone who coached a division rival and never finished better than third. Interesting.

With Belichick and Vrabel still available they may be desperate enough to be tempted.

Blank must be in a panic if he hired a guy who just doesn't win as an HC and even served as a losing interim HC a year ago. Just a wow move that makes zero sense.

He wants Arthur smith as his oc

Yeah - that would be an annoyingly smart decision.

Belichick with Allen under center would do some real damage.

Excellent point.

Reid was in high demand when he got let go. BB, not so much.

That does say a fair bit about how they're regarded in league circles...

Raheem Morris already failed once as a HC in Tampa and as an interim HC… in Atlanta.

I’ve always wondered if Vrabel would ever get a **** ton of money to coach Ohio State.

shhhhh

There are two kinds of coaches. Those that are fired and those that will soon be fired.

Ok but what if he took the Michigan job? Epic much???

So you go and hire the guy who already failed as your interim head coach in the past?

I mean, some of the organizations just need to contract and be done with it.

Hey, at least Brandon Staley will get some company in the “coaching Aaron Donald and being breathed on by Sean McVay earned me a HC job I didn’t deserve and then I failed and got fired” club.

In a few years.

So who is the best guy left?? Macdonald - Raven DC?

You'll only need to change the "H" to an "F" in the thread title two years from now.

What’s it do for the narrative about all the owners being racists when Belichick is available and Raheem Morris is hired instead? :Poke:

A lot of garbage hires considering what's available.

How did Slowik not get one of these jobs?

Bill can be our waterboy

Because NFL teams are owned and run by morons. Every year it's maddening.

A crap ton of defensive coaches still getting hired for these jobs, too.

Like… what are teams not ****ing understanding?

What’s really crazy is a guy who has already had a shot and failed getting another one so soon.

Like, what has Raheem Morris learned coordinating Aaron Donald and breathing McVay’s air that is going to make it work this time?

There's been something that Morris is able to sell to teams for a long time. He got the Tampa job years ago with zero coordinator experience. He had that interim gig (with Atlanta??? I think it was) in which the team really really wanted to hire him. I don't know.

In any case, whoever is making these coaching hires is really susceptible to getting bamboozled. As much as they trick themselves into not hiring Bieniemy because "Stephen A isn't going to tell me how to run MY team!!!!" they also fall in love with these clearly non-dynamic loser coaches who make great powerpoint presentations or some shit.

If Belichick doesn’t get a HC job this year, but still wants to stay involved with the league next season… “special advisor” role on Andy’s coaching staff?

Belichick + Spags developing defensive game plans next season would be a nightmare for the rest of the league.

We have decades of the Patriot way and see how it works without Brady

It has to be that Bill wants full control. It'd be crazy to say no to him just cos of money

The Seahawks are begging the Chiefs to win this Sunday bc they want Mike Macdonald and they want him badly.

If he did that, my worry would be him going to the Broncos. Not sure how many Parcells guys are even left but Payton and Dan Campbell in Detroit.

Id be LEGIT concerned if Vrabel ended up in Buffalo. Mike has designed defenses that have been as effective against Mahomes as anyone has. Pair that with Allen and that team would be a bigger threat than they currently are.

BB limits any teams ceiling, due to age.

Guy could legit drop dead of a heart attack on the sideline, so maybe Buffalo is where he will end up.
They have very different defensive philosophies, though.

Man…if Walmart were to go out and pay BB like he’s a HC and have him be Denver’s DC…I’d be …concerned.

Has there ever been a worse division in history from a HC+QB combo perspective than the current NFC South?

Wonder if we could tag/trade jones to ATL for Pitts and a 3rd. Not sure if they would even need or want Jones. Draft his replacement in the 2nd.

Also heard on some local radio broadcast, that IF Andy retires we’d hire Bill. Hope that’s not true

Its a miracle that the Chiefs have had so much consistency in their coaching staff. Yes, having Mahomes is what allows you to play in 6 straight AFC Championship games, but the fact that our coaching staff has been so consistent over the years is amazing. Hell the only real loss was EB, and we basically had to kick his butt out the door.

A radio show hack is putting that baseless rumor out there.

Belicheck is past his prime. He has no value left.

He could be a defensive coordinator but he would never do that IMHO.

To be considered guessing needs 1) to give up authoriity over personnel 2) have a goood established QB in place and to have a established OC willing to take the position on his staff and probably a commitment for 4-5 years.

Would YOU want either of those guys running your team?!?

Vrabel isn’t bad, but he’s not outstanding. He probably would have been a really good coach in the 80s/90s.

That being said I’d take Vrabel 100 times out of 100 over Belichick.

Apparently the falcons passed because they didn’t think Bill could play nice with the GM. Could you imagine Bill trying to tell Veach what to do?

Today's twist in the Patriots soap opera. Kraft reportedly called up Arthur Blank and torpedoed Belichick.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">According to ESPN, citing a source who spoke to someone close to Robert Kraft and another person close to Bill Belichick, Kraft called Falcons owner Arthur Blank during Atlanta’s coaching search to warn him not to trust Belichick.<br><br>Kraft denied this claim through a team… <a href="https://t.co/Sg3MQxI16j">pic.twitter.com/Sg3MQxI16j</a></p>&mdash; Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) <a href="https://twitter.com/_AndrewCallahan/status/1780566934913692031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I'd let hoodie cook but not get the groceries...

Damn I was hoping this pos caused an 8 car pile up in Atlanta with minimal injuries to take some heat off of us.

If you ever want to hoodwink an NFL owner, Arthur Blank is a great choice